Boulder Police officers wave Pine Brook Hills evacuees to them to check identifications at Linden Ave. and Spring Valley Rd. so they could return to their homes Thursday morning to check up on their houses and pick up personal items.

Firefighters from Colorado Springs Fire, talk with a homeowner at the top of the Boulder Heights subdivision north and west of Boulder outside of his house. Their crew spent a good portion of their day talking with incoming home owners and accessing homes in the Boulder Heights subdivision north and west of Boulder. The area has been completely open to residents, but fire crews continued to monitor the blustery winds and watch fire movement to make sure homes were not threatened today, September 10th, 2010, the 5th day of the Four Mile Canyon fire. Helen H. Richardson/ The Denver Post

Fire damage can be seen from a ridge above Boulder Heights subdivision.

Gov Bill Ritter thanks volunteer Fire fighters Molly Wineteer of the Left Hand Fire Protection District, Mark Wischmeyer, of the Jamestown Fire Department and Rob Bozeman of the Boulder Mountain Fire Protection District at the staging area at Boulder Reservoir. All had been fighting the fire through the week and had been invited to greet Gov. Bill Ritter when he arrived for a briefing on the Fourmile Canyon fire in Boulder CO, September 10, 2010.

BOULDER — More than 2,000 wildfire evacuees returned to their homes in the foothills west of Boulder today, but the residents of 600 homes are still awaiting the word.

Officials refused to set a timetable for their return.

The long-term forecast is for cooler weather and higher humidity. Incident commander Jim Thomas said the Fourmile Canyon fire could be contained in three to five days if that holds true.

The fire, which started Monday, is now 56 percent contained, Type I team fire spokesman Terry Krasko said tonight. The blaze destroyed 169 homes and three other structures while charring 6,422 acres. More than 900 people were still fighting the fire.

The wildfire was indiscriminate, taking out some homes and sparing others only a stone’s throw away.

During a media tour behind the fire lines this afternoon, reporters saw the skeleton of a burned-out car remained in what little was left of a garage in Sunshine Canyon. The rest of the home, with the exception of the chimney and some metal beams, was charred dust.

Firefighters, using shovels and hoes, worked on taming hotspots as rivlets of smoke billowed from the forest floors, making the area look like it was billowing hot springs on a lunar landscape.

Kendra Graff, a federal firefighter who also volunteers with the Coal Creek Canyon Fire Department, has been at the fire since Monday.

The fire has so much life on Monday that Graff and others could only watch the destruction.

“It was a helpless feeling,” Graff recalled. “Frustrating – but we were doing the best we could.”

One homeowner left a gassed-up chainsaw and a home fire extinguisher outside the front door of a residence with a note on the door for firefighters to use them if needed, Graff said.

Downed power lines and electrical transformers, charred trees about to topple, winds and simmering hotspots continued to make the Sunshine Canyon area a dangerous place Friday afternoon.

Jay Stalnacker, a fire management officer with the Boulder Sheriff’s Office, said fire officials are working as fast as they can to try and get residents back into their homes, but it could still take some time.

“It’s not safe,” Stalnacker said of the fire scorched area. “It could be a slow process.”

The sheriff’s office is working on a tag program, people still being kept out of their homes will be able to leave information with the sheriff’s office and receive a mirror placard for their vehicles. When their subdivision reopens, the tag will make homeowners easier to identify and make it easier for them to get through remaining checkpoints.

The sheriff’s office could start the placard identification program this weekend, Stalnacker said.

One burned home looked like residents there had taken mitigating measures, including thinning trees close to the structure, but strong winds and the home’s hilltop location proved too much.

“Can you stop a flood? Can you stop a hurricane?” Stalnacker asked. “You can’t. Some things are out of your control. You can’t make sense of it.”

Residents of the Boulder Heights, Pine Brook Hills, Lee Hill Drive, Carriage Hills, Olde Stage Road and Mountain Meadows communities were allowed in Friday to check on their property, although team leader Terry Krasko warned them that evacuation orders could be re-instituted if winds pick up.

Sunshine Canyon and Fourmile Canyon roads were also re-opened to Poorman Road. There is some access on Gold Hill Road, Sugarloaf Road and Lefthand Canyon Drive.

Officials stressed that residents and the public need to stay out of the way of firefighting efforts.

One man who didn’t heed that warning was taken into custody Thursday night; he was caught behind fire lines for the third time, Boulder County Sheriff’s Cmdr. Rick Brough said. The man was charged with trespass and unlawful conduct.

So far the Fourmile Fire has cost $4 million to fight, although that figure will rise.

On Thursday Gov. Bill Ritter approved an additional $250,000 for firefighting efforts, augmenting the $5 million made available Tuesday.

The governor’s order allows state agencies to assist victims with housing and other immediate needs and directs the Division of Emergency Management to coordinate applications for federal aid.

“It’s important that we respond with our best foot forward,” Ritter said.

On Friday afternoon, Ritter toured the evacuation center at the YMCA on 28th and Mapleton in Boulder. Ritter stopped to talk with Tom Bethke, 49, of Lee Hill, who has been an evacuee since Monday.

“The Boulder community has done more than I ever anticipated,” Bethke said to Ritter, choking back tears.

After talking with the Governor, Bethke praised everyone who has been helping him, including the American Red Cross, which runs the shelter.

“If it wasn’t for these people, I’d be sleeping on the grass somewhere,” Bethke said.

On Thursday night, someone stole Bethke’s bike, which he had been using to get around Boulder, from outside the YMCA.

The swiped bike and the nights and days away from his home has left Bethke on an emotional edge.

Kieran Nicholson covers breaking news for The Denver Post. He started at the Post in 1986, at the old building on 15th and California streets. Nicholson has covered a variety of beats including suburbs, courts, crime and general assignment.

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